David Beckham: A footballer without borders

1993-2003: Manchester United

2003-2007: Real Madrid

2007-2011: Los Angeles Galaxy

Put in a couple of recent loan spells at AC Milan and one at Preston North End towards the start of his professional career, and you don’t need to be a football know-it-all to figure out who I am talking about. Arguably the most famous contemporary footballer on earth, David Beckham has been often touted as the ‘Hollywood superstar’ in the world of football, for his good looks, a pop star wife, plenty of endorsement deals and brand image. However, he has been one of the most successful characters in club as well as international football, being the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in Manchester United’s treble-winning 1998-99 season and England’s most capped outfield player ever.

On 20 November 2011, Beckham was part of the LA Galaxy team that won the MLS Cup for the first time in their club history. Though Landon Donovan was the standout performer of the team, Beckham was hugely appreciated since he played his part to perfection in an unfamiliar holding midfield role despite injury. With three league titles in three different countries, he has become a part of an elite group of footballers and can now reflect on a brilliant career.

MANCHESTER UNITED: RISE TO STARDOM

'Fergie's Fledglings', Beckham being one of the gifted ones

Beckham’s ascent to fame and subsequently stardom has been nothing short of magnificent. One of ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ (the FA Youth Cup-winning team of 1992), Beckham was blessed with a magical right foot which he utilized to deadly effect. Throughout his career, he has been one of the world’s best free kick takers and his crosses were a nightmare to defend against. Patrick Barclay, one of England’s most noted football writers, chronicles Beckham’s immense talent during his early days in Sir Alex’s Ferguson’s biography as under:

“… But the one who enthralled me was Beckham. He epitomised the style. Lean and upright, with floppy hair, he exuded the calm you seldom found in English footballers of the highest order…”

Beckham rose through the academy ranks at United and made his first appearance for the first team in a League Cup game against Brighton Hove and Albion in 1992. He also scored on his Champions League debut against Galatasaray two seasons later. After a six-month loan spell of ‘toughening-up’ at Preston North End, Beckham won the English Double in his first full season for the club in 1995-96 and played a crucial role in a team that consisted of the likes of Cantona, Cole, Keane, Giggs, Scholes and Neville.

The 'Magical' Right Foot

Beckham scored some wonderful goals – the most memorable among Manchester United fans being the one against Wimbledon in 1996. With United leading 2-0, Beckham noticed that the Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing at quite some distance away from his goal. So he tried his luck from the half line and this is what happened –

The highest point of Beckham’s career was the 1999 UEFA Champions League final, when Manchester United dramatically snatched a 2-1 victory from the jaws of defeat against Bayern Munich, both of United’s goals coming from Beckham’s corners. He finished runner-up to Rivaldo both in the European Footballer of the Year (then Ballon D’Or) and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In the next few seasons, Beckham played some of the best football of his career and helped United win the league title thrice in four seasons.

However, his relationship deteriorated with manager Ferguson over the same period, especially with his off-the-field activities post his marriage to Victoria Beckham. It reached its height in the dressing room after an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal in 2003 when Ferguson kicked or threw a boot that struck him over the eye, leading to numerous stitches. And the following summer, he was off to Real Madrid for a fee of 25 million pounds.

A ‘GALACTICO’AT REAL MADRID

Selling Shirts in Madrid?

It is no secret that the biggest reason behind Florentino Perez bringing Beckham to Madrid was to increase the sales of the merchandising department and elevate their brand image in Asia, which was obvious when the club organized a pre-season tour of the Far East just after they had signed the Englishman. Beckham made an instant impact on his arrival, scoring in the second leg in a 3-0 Spanish Super Cup victory over RCD Mallorca besides finding the net five times in his first 16 matches. However, Real Madrid failed to win any major trophy that year, and the season ended in disappointment.

The next season proved to be a turbulent one as Beckham struggled with on-field disciplinary problems, getting himself sent thrice in a single league season. As managers kept changing at the club, Beckham continued his fine form and finished with the highest number of assists in the La Liga in 2005-06.

Once Fabio Capello took over the managerial reins in 2006, Beckham’s Real career went on a downward spiral, with the Italian preferring Jose Antonio Reyes instead. Contract negotiations further complicated matters, and when Beckham announced in January 2007 that he had signed for Major League Soccer (MLS) club Los Angeles Galaxy, Capello declared that Beckham would never play for Real again. Though Capello later backtracked on his statement and Beckham rejoined the team, the Englishman’s time at Madrid was finished as he limped off during their final league fixture and Real romped to the La Liga title, beating Mallorca 3-1 at the Bernabeu. Two trophies in four seasons was all he can claim as silverware during his time with the Los Galacticos.

THE AMERICAN ODYSSEY

In Pele's footsteps

Beckham’s arrival at Los Angeles Galaxy was met with much fanfare and publicity in the American press. Given he had tread on the same path as greats like Pele and Franz Beckenbauer had before, there was bound to be excitement. Though the cost of bringing the English midfielder was huge, the MLS believed it would raise the popularity of the sport within the country, and rightly so. At least for the LA Galaxy owners Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), who saw a sudden spike in their sales. The company’s CEO Tim Leiweke was quoted as follows back then:

“Suddenly, we’re known as the company that owns the team that David Beckham is going to play for, so our world changed.”

Though ESPN did its level best to promote Beckham’s first game for LA Galaxy – a friendly game against Chelsea– the game didn’t attract much viewership despite Beckham making a substitute appearance. However, he had not recovered fully from the injury sustained in his last La Liga game and hence he kept missing games throughout his first season. With their star player absent, Galaxy were unable to make it to the end-of-season play-offs and had a disappointing season.

In a bid to retain his place in the England national team for the World Cup qualifiers in 2009, Beckham decided to join AC Milan in January till the start of the MLS season in March. He impressed for the Italian club so much that Milan were eager to sign him, but failed to match LA Galaxy’s asking price. Finally when he returned to Los Angeles, the club fans jeered him and showed anger for trying to secure a move to AC Milan, calling him a ‘part time player’. Though he was to go back to Milan that season again on loan, he played a crucial part in the MLS club winning back-to-back Western Conference titles and won back the supporters’ trust.

As he edged towards the end of his contract with LA Galaxy, Beckham finished his American Odyssey of sorts on a high as he helped them win their first MLS Cup title in front of a sell-out home crowd, assisting Landon Donovan for the winner. As the Galaxy fanatics chanted “We want Beckham!” after the match, an emotionally overwhelmed Beckham said –

“It’s been the most enjoyable time of my career in America over the last year, and this just tops it off. I’ve said before, I need to sit back and relax and enjoy this moment, and then I’ll figure out what I’m going to do next year. I might talk in the past tense sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving. It’s been an amazing five years.”

The hatred is gone, now they want him to stay

Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly favourites to sign the Englishman. A host of English clubs like Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Blackburn Rovers are coveting his services. LA Galaxy are counting on him to extend his contract (which ends in December) and continue playing in the MLS.

As the LA Galaxy team celebrated its first Cup honours, there remains the question – where does Beckham go on from here? Will he retire? Will he stay on? Or will he court suitors from all across Europe? Only time will tell…